Johnny Carson Co-Created A Forgotten Fox Sitcom Starring A Hollywood Legend

When you think of Johnny Carson, your mind instantly goes to his sharp monologue jokes and iconic character bits from the "The Tonight Show." But the king of late-night TV also took a stab at creating a primetime sitcom and — according to a Hollywood titan — the experience was miserable. Back in 1987, Carson's production company co-created "Mr. President," a half-hour comedy that served as part of the lineup for the newly launched Fox Broadcasting Company. The late-night host had a big Hollywood actor in mind to play the commander in chief: George C. Scott, best known for his Oscar-winning turn in the 1971 World War II film "Patton."

Scott stepped into the titular role of President Samuel Arthur Tresch, and he was backed by a supporting cast that included Carlin Glynn as First Lady Meg Tresch and "Diff'rent Strokes" star Conrad Bain as Chief of Staff Charlie Ross. Comedy legend Madeline Kahn even joined the ranks as the president's sister-in-law.

To Scott, the initial pitch was personal. He recalled in an article for the Los Angeles Times, "Sometime during the summer of 1986, Johnny Carson sat in the sun room of my cottage house in the flats and described the idea of me starring in a half-hour series concerning the day-to-day occurrences in the life of a man who, as Johnny put it, 'just happened to be the President of the United States.'" 

Airing alongside early hits like "Married... With Children," "Mr. President" aimed to look at the domestic side of politics. Instead of focusing entirely on Oval Office drama, it centered on the chaotic family life of the newly elected Samuel Arthur Tresch, a former Wisconsin governor. To George C. Scott, it sounded like a surefire hit on paper. "The bricks and mortar of the proposition seemed clean and straightforward enough," the actor wrote in the Los Angeles Times. "With no pilot, 'Mr. President' would have a 13-shot guarantee as the premiere offering of the fledgling Fox Television Network."

Unfortunately, the high-profile experiment didn't last. The tone fluctuated wildly between a family drama and standard sitcom fare, and after shifting dynamics — including the First Lady walking out at the start of Season 2 — the axe fell. The series was canceled near the end of 1987, airing its 24th and final episode on February 13, 1988.

The sudden end was likely a relief to its legendary star, who was notoriously miserable with how the show turned out. Reflecting on the messy production, Scott pulled zero punches: "The working situation was positively Byzantine. We were always chronically behind. In scripts, in time, most of all in quality. Had I habitually insisted on the unreality of perfection, the whole insane Chinese fire drill would have ground to a halt. They would have sued me." Scott bluntly concluded of the show's legacy, "We could have done worse. As it is, we succeeded only in trivializing the presidency."